Removably mountable umbrella

ABSTRACT

An apparatus including a shaft, an umbrella canopy, a handle, an upper suction cup, and a lower suction cup is described. The umbrella canopy and the handle are attached to the shaft. The handle includes a body, an upper projection, and a lower projection. The upper projection and the lower projection project from the body in the same direction and are in spaced relation to one another. The upper suction cup is attached to the upper projection, while the lower suction cup is attached to the lower projection. The apparatus may serve as a removably mountable umbrella.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to umbrellas, and, moreparticularly, to removably mountable umbrellas.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An umbrella typically includes a folding canopy supported by wooden ormetal ribs mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic shaft. It may be usedto protect a person from rain or sunlight.

Nonetheless, despite their widespread usage, typical umbrellas sufferfrom several disadvantages. A user of an ordinary umbrella may, forexample, be required to continuously hold the umbrella during its use,leaving only one hand free to perform other tasks. When loading packagesinto an automobile, for example, a user with a typical umbrella must useone hand to hold the umbrella while performing the loading with only theremaining hand.

There is, as a result, a need for improved umbrella designs that allowan umbrella to be supported independently of a user so that the user isfree to perform tasks with both hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention address the above-identified needsby providing an umbrella system that is removably mountable to almostany reasonably flat surface.

Aspects of the invention are directed to an apparatus comprising ashaft, an umbrella canopy, a handle, an upper suction cup, and a lowersuction cup. The umbrella canopy and the handle are attached to theshaft. The handle comprises a body, an upper projection, and a lowerprojection. The upper projection and the lower projection project fromthe body in the same direction and are in spaced relation to oneanother. The upper suction cup is attached to the upper projection,while the lower suction cup is attached to the lower projection.

Additional aspects of the invention are directed to a method forsupporting an umbrella on a flat surface. The method comprises obtainingan apparatus like that described in the previous paragraph. Onceobtained, the upper suction cup and the lower suction cup are adhered tothe flat surface via suction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an illustrative apparatus, whichincludes features of the claimed invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 show intact and exploded perspective views, respectively,of the portion of the FIG. 1 apparatus circled in FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 4A-4D show top perspective, bottom perspective, top elevational,and bottom elevational views, respectively, of just a handle portion ofthe FIG. 1 apparatus independent of other elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be described with reference to illustrativeembodiments. For this reason, numerous modifications can be made tothese embodiments and the results will still come within the scope ofthe invention. No limitations with respect to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein are intended or should be inferred.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an illustrative apparatus 100, whichincludes features of the claimed invention. The apparatus 100 comprisesa shaft 105, an umbrella canopy 110, a handle 115, an upper suction cup120, and a lower suction cup 125. The umbrella canopy 110 is attached toone end of the shaft 105, while the handle 115 is attached to anotherend of the shaft 105. At the same time, the upper and the lower suctioncups 120, 125 are attached to the handle 115. Configured in this manner,the apparatus 100 may serve as an umbrella that is removably mountableto almost any flat surface. The apparatus 100 may, for example, bemounted to a window of an automobile while loading the automobile withpackages. The user is thereby free to use both hands while remainingprotected from the elements.

Additional details of the apparatus 100 are provided in FIGS. 2-4D.FIGS. 2 and 3 show intact and exploded perspective views, respectively,of the portion of the apparatus 100 circled in FIG. 1. FIGS. 4A-4D showtop perspective, bottom perspective, top elevational, and bottomelevational views, respectively, of just a handle portion of theapparatus 100 independent of other elements.

The handle 115 comprises a body 130, an upper projection 135, and alower projection 140. Both the upper and the lower projection 135, 140project from the body 130 in the same direction and are arranged inspaced relation to one another. The upper suction cup 120 is attached tothe upper projection 135 by means of an upper threaded shaft 145 thatforms part of the upper suction cup 120, in combination with an upperthreaded receiving hole 150 in the upper projection 135. The upperthreaded shaft 145 threadably engages the upper threaded receiving hole150. The lower suction cup 125, in contrast, is attached to the lowerprojection 140 via a lower receiving hole 155 built into the lowersuction cup 125 that engages a lower shaft 160 defined by the lowerprojection 140. An adhesive may be placed between the lower receivinghole 155 and the lower shaft 160 to aid with attachment if a compressiveattachment is not deemed adequate.

While the apparatus 100 has the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125attached to the handle 115 in a particular manner, that particulararrangement is merely illustrative. In alternative embodiments alsofalling within the claims, the attachment means of the upper and lowersuction cups 120, 125 may be reversed from that described above. Forexample, the upper suction cup 120 may define a threaded receiving holewhile the upper projection 135 defines a threaded shaft. Independentlyor additionally, the lower suction cup 125 may define a lower shaft thatengages a lower receiving hole in the lower projection 140.

The shaft 105 also attaches to the handle 115 via insertion into acorresponding hole, in this case, via insertion into a body receivinghole 165 in the body 130. Here again, an adhesive may be utilized if acompressive attachment is deemed too weak.

The shaft 105 includes an actuation button 170, which is clearly visiblein FIGS. 1-3. This actuation button 170 may control the expansion andfolding of the umbrella canopy 110 in the manner of many conventionalumbrellas. When folded, pressing the actuation button 170 causes theumbrella canopy 110 to automatically expand in response to one or moresprings built into the apparatus 100. When expanded, the actuationbutton 170 allows the umbrella canopy 110 to be manually folded againstthe springs so that the apparatus 100 takes on a more compact form.

Once configured as indicated above, the apparatus 100 may be attached toalmost any reasonably flat surface with which the upper and lowersuction cups 120, 125 may adhere via suction. The window pane of a caris one example, which was mentioned earlier. Notably, the position ofthe upper suction cup 120 with respect to the upper projection 135 maybe easily changed by more fully or less fully threadably engaging theupper threaded shaft 145 into the upper threaded receiving hole 150.Doing so changes the tilt of the shaft 105 of the apparatus 100 andthereby provides a means of customizing the positioning of the umbrellacanopy 110 relative to the object to which the apparatus 100 isattached. The additional tilt may help to further shade the user fromrain, compensate for wind, and so forth.

Reference to FIGS. 1-3 will indicate that the illustrative apparatus 100further includes a unique release strip 175 that spans between the uppersuction cup 120 and the lower suction cup 125. To aid with attachment ofthis release strip 175, the upper suction cup 120 defines an upper loop180 at one of its edges, while the lower suction cup 125 defines a lowerloop 185 at one of its edges. The release strip 175 includes twospear-headed pins 190 located at opposing ends of the release strip 175.These spear-headed pins 190 engage the upper and lower loops 180, 185,thereby attaching the release strip 175 to the upper and lower suctioncups 120, 125. The spear-headed pin 190 associated with the upper loop180 may temporarily be disengaged from the upper loop 180 when the uppersuction cup 120 is rotated so as to adjust tilt.

With the release strip 175 so placed, removing the upper and lowersuction cups 120, 125 from whatever flat surface they are adhered is amatter of simply lifting upward on the release strip 175 towards thebody 130 of the handle 115. Curvature in the release strip 175 allows auser to curl one or two fingers around the release strip 175. Thelifting action lifts the edges of the upper and lower suction cups 120,125, and allows air to fill in the vacuum responsible for holding theupper and lower suction cups 120, 125 in place. Stated another way,actuating the release strip 175 breaks the suction holding the upper andlower suction cups 120, 125 to the surface to which they are adhered.

The particular apparatus 100 detailed above, and, more generally,apparatus 100 in accordance with aspects of the invention, therebyprovide umbrella systems that may be removably mounted to almost anyreasonably flat surface, such as a wall or car window. Once so mounted,such an umbrella system can protect the user from the elements whileleaving the user's hands free to accomplish other tasks. Features suchas the adjustable upper suction cup 120 may allow the tilt of theumbrella system to be customized. At the same time, the release strip175 may allow the umbrella system to be readily removed from a surfaceso that the umbrella system can be moved.

Once understood from the description provided herein, the apparatus 100may be manufactured using ordinary manufacturing techniques that willalready be familiar to one having ordinary skill in the relevantmanufacturing arts. To aid with robustness, the body 130 and the upperand lower projections 135, 140 of the handle 115 may, for example, formone integral element (meaning that they cannot be separated withoutcutting or breaking the handle 115), and may comprise wood, metal,rubber, or plastic. If formed of plastic, the handle 115 may be formedby injection molding. The upper and lower suction cups 120, 125 may beavailable commercially or may also be injection molded. They may beformed of, for example, an elastomeric material such as, but not limitedto, nitrile or silicone. The remainder of the apparatus 100 (e.g., theshaft 105, the umbrella canopy 110, the supporting ribs, and otherumbrella-specific hardware) may be obtained commercially.

It should again be emphasized that the above-described embodiments ofthe invention are intended to be illustrative only. Other embodimentscan use different types and arrangements of elements for implementingthe described functionality. These numerous alternative embodimentswithin the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to one skilledin the art.

All the features disclosed herein may be replaced by alternativefeatures serving the same, equivalent, or similar purposes, unlessexpressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise,each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series ofequivalent or similar features.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for”performing a specified function or “step for” performing a specifiedfunction is not to be interpreted as a “means for” or “step for” clauseas specified in AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). In particular, the use of “stepsof” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of AIA35 U.S.C. § 112(f).

1. An apparatus comprising: a shaft; an umbrella canopy attached to theshaft; a handle attached to the shaft and comprising: a body; an upperprojection projecting from the body; and a lower projection projectingfrom the body in a same direction as the upper projection and in spacedrelation to the upper projection; an upper suction cup attached to theupper projection; and a lower suction cup attached to the lowerprojection.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the body defines abody receiving hole; and the shaft is inserted into the body receivinghole.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the body, the upperprojection, and the lower projection form one integral element thatcannot be separated without cutting or breaking the handle.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the upper projection defines an upperthreaded receiving hole; and the upper suction cup defines an upperthreaded shaft threadably engaged in the upper threaded receiving hole.5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the lower suction cup defines alower receiving hole; and the lower projection defines a lower shaftinserted into the lower receiving hole.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising a release strip spanning between the upper suctioncup and the lower suction cup.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: theupper suction cup defines an upper loop; and the release strip isinserted into the upper loop.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: thelower suction cup defines a lower loop; and the release strip isinserted into the lower loop.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein therelease strip is curved.
 10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, with theupper suction cup and the lower suction cup adhered to a flat surfacevia suction, actuation of the release strip acts to release the suctionof the upper suction cup and the lower suction cup.
 11. A method forsupporting an umbrella on a flat surface, the method comprising thesteps of: obtaining an apparatus comprising: a shaft; an umbrella canopyattached to the shaft; and a handle attached to the shaft andcomprising: a body; an upper projection projecting from the body; and alower projection projecting from the body in a same direction as theupper projection and in spaced relation to the upper projection; anupper suction cup attached to the upper projection; and a lower suctioncup attached to the lower projection; and adhering the upper suction cupand the lower suction cup to the flat surface via suction.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein: the body defines a body receiving hole; andthe shaft is inserted into the body receiving hole.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the body, the upper projection, and the lowerprojection form one integral element that cannot be separated withoutcutting or breaking the handle.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein: theupper projection defines an upper threaded receiving hole; and the uppersuction cup defines an upper threaded shaft threadably engaged in theupper threaded receiving hole.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein: thelower suction cup defines a lower receiving hole; and the lowerprojection defines a lower shaft inserted into the lower receiving hole.16. The method of claim 11, further comprising a release strip spanningbetween the upper suction cup and the lower suction cup.
 17. The methodof claim 16, wherein: the upper suction cup defines an upper loop; andthe release strip is inserted into the upper loop.
 18. The method ofclaim 16, wherein: the lower suction cup defines a lower loop; and therelease strip is inserted into the lower loop.
 19. The method of claim16, wherein the release strip is curved.
 20. The method of claim 16,wherein, with the upper suction cup and the lower suction cup adhered tothe flat surface via suction, actuation of the release strip acts torelease the suction of the upper suction cup and the lower suction cup.